Saturday, October 25, 2014

Three prototypes are currently conducting test flights at Yanliang Airport near Xian. The most interesting of this bunch is probably the KJ-500 AWAC, a domestic modification of the ZDK-03 exported to Pakistan. Unlike the ZDK-03, this Chinese AWAC is based on the newly available Y-9 tactical transport airframe with longer range and greater payloads rather than the older Y-8.

BEIJING, October 24 (ChinaMil) –Over 130 aircraft of various types will
participate in the 10th China International Aviation & Aerospace
Exhibition to be unveiled on November 11, 2014 in Zhuhai of south
China’s Guangdong province, and the J-31 stealth fighter will also
appear in Zhuhai and conduct a demonstration flight, according to media
reports.

Xu Yongling, an aviation expert, said in an interview
that the Chinese fighters are renowned for its low cost and excellent
technical standard. The J-31 stealth fighter has export advantages. In
the future military trade market, China will no longer be the "small
potato". Instead, its market share will gradually increase.

The
J-31 stealth fighter had its successful maiden flight in 2012 and is
still in the test phase. However, will its participation in exhibition
only two years after the maiden flight reveal secrets of China’s stealth
aircraft technology?

Xu Yongling said that the J-31 is likely
to be positioned as an export-oriented aircraft initially. Therefore,
the secrecy is not a problem. The J-31 shall disclose its appearance as
much as possible in order to have a good showcase.

The current
global arms export market is still dominated by the United States.
Russia’s orders remain stable in the second place while arms exports
from Europe are gradually improving. China is relatively weak in this
field. "If Russia and Europe are entering into rivalry with the U.S.
over the cake, then China can only cut a corner form the cake", said Xu
Yongling. Once the J-31 is being exported, it will become a
highly-competitive product in moderately developed countries or below,
along with third-generation fighters.

European countries are
traditional allies of the U.S. so their military aircraft trade contains
a lot of strategic and political factors. It is very difficult for
other countries to intervene.

The training systems in the NATO,
the U.S. and its allies are bounded together. "It is very difficult for
aircraft developed by outsider countries to enter their market as the
threshold is very high", Xu Yongling said.

Xu Yongling stressed
that China does not want to sell fighters to western countries. In
addition to traditional friendly countries such as Pakistan, there are
many countries in the Middle East, South Asia and Latin America whose
demand for fighters matches China’s ability to export military aircraft.
Some countries are lacking imported third-generation fighters while
their second-generation fighters are going to the scrapheap. They have a
large demand for importing fighters.

“If China’s products can
catch up with the rhythm of these countries in terms of time period and
we take initiative from military diplomacy, then the possibility of
having a share in the third-generation and fourth-generation fighters
market in these countries remains relatively high," said Xu.

Xu
Yongling believes that the Chinese fighters’ share in global arms trade
market will gradually increase in the future. It is possible for China
to transform from a "corner” role to an important player with strong
competitiveness.

China builds world's largest patrol ship: report

China is reportedly building a 10,000-ton class
marine surveillance vessel, the largest of its kind in the world, amid
the country's buildup of its maritime law enforcement force against the
backdrop of territorial disputes at sea.

Analysts said the ship,
with a higher continuous voyage capability than current Chinese ships,
could better cope with conditions in the South China Sea and safeguard
the country's maritime interests.

According to a Tuesday report
by the Beijing Times, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC)
recently said on its official website that it signed contracts in 2013
to build two kinds of marine surveillance ships, one of them 10,000
tons.

However, the information was no longer available on the company's website on Tuesday.

CSIC's
spokesman Liu Zhengguo Tuesday declined to confirm the news to the
Global Times, saying it would take days to verify the information.

If
confirmed, the vessel under construction would surpass Japan Coast
Guard's two 6,500-ton vessels to be the world's largest patrol ship.

The China Coast Guard's (CCG) largest patrol ships in service have a tonnage of 4,000.

China
Ocean News reported Tuesday that a 5,000-ton class patrol ship will be
deployed to the waters around Sansha, China's newest city, set up to
consolidate the country's claim over the South China Sea.

Li
Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the People's
Liberation Army, said that building large tonnage vessels has become a
trend in shoring up China's maritime strength, as the fleet of the
patrol ships used to be made up of outdated vessels as well as retired
warships, which were refitted.

Liu Cigui, head of the State
Oceanic Administration (SOA), last week told a national maritime work
conference that 20 new patrol vessels are under construction.

It is not clear to which area the 10,000-ton vessel allegedly under construction would be commissioned.

Wang
Xiaopeng, a maritime border expert at the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, told the Global Times that as its continuous voyage capability
is expected to be over 10,000 nautical miles, the ship will be able to
carry out cross-sea patrols.

Yu Zhirong, a retired official from
the maritime law enforcement authority in the East China Sea, told the
Global Times the ship is more likely to be deployed in the South China
Sea, given the absence of relay stations in the vast waters.

"With abundant supplies and fuel, it would be able to carry out enduring surveillance tasks," said Yu.

Wang
shared similar sentiments, noting most of the illegal oil exploitation
by foreign countries takes place in waters far away from China's coastal
areas.

The expert estimated that the large vessel will be
equipped with at least two planes and several boats. "Entering November,
the disputed waters become choppy, therefore, only ships above 1,000
tons could sail to the high seas. Meanwhile, the boats attached to the
large ship could enter the lagoons for patrol," he said.

Wang also noted that the 10,000-ton vessel could serve as both "shield and sword" in safeguarding China's maritime rights.

According
to him, the large ship could more effectively drive away armed foreign
fishing boats, which operate in waters claimed by China, and carry out
close-up surveillance on offshore oil platforms set up by foreign
countries.

Tensions have been running high between Beijing and
Tokyo over the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea, while China is also
locked in disputes on the South China Sea with some Southeast Asian
countries.

At last week's maritime work conference, Liu, the SOA
head, named the major goals set for this year, including fostering the
"combat capability" of the CCG, which was established last July.

He
also vowed to strengthen the Chinese maritime law enforcement force's
regular presence at sea and deepen the CCG and military's coordination
in their maritime operations.